Sailing through the Troubled Waters of Foreign Policy Dilemmas, Domestic Political Polarization and Cultural Clashes

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Trump’s First 100: Little done and who knows what’s begun?

When thinking of the Trump presidency I alternate between viewing it through one lens looking for what is being done and another that focuses on the show, aimed mostly at grabbing our attention like a good advertisement. Through the action lens Trump’s presidency looks willy-nilly, featuring much incompetence in his staff and their relations with congress, including the failure to fill many top vacancies.

Add a titanic sized boat load of conflicts of interest by the Trump family and the tendency to flip flop, including often doing exactly the opposite of the populism he campaigned upon. Oh, and there is that lingering Russian connection under slow-mo investigation.

But as a show it is one display of fireworks after another and while many of us can only gag and shake our heads his followers, according to polls, are holding strong. They are willing to cut him loads of slack given “the mess” he inherited in Washington and the frenzy of activity he engineers. They see him tirelessly working for them, an image Mussolini achieved in Italy prior to WWII, by leaving a light on in his office all night. Simpler times.

Trump is surely a whirlwind of activity though even that gets exaggerated by the bomb dropping impact of his tweets. It might take him a few minutes to think through and pop off about Obama being “sick and bad” for wire tapping him, but it sends reporters scurrying around for weeks.

Recently a TV reporter pressed Trump on the “sick and bad” comment and Trump called the interview over rather than explain himself. Basically he left with “we all have our opinions.” “But you are the president” John Dickerson reminded him to no avail. Dickerson was indicating the obvious, that we should be able to expect our president to explain what he meant by such an outrageous statement.

Turns out that’s not true in Trump world, a fantasy realm propped up by the Republican party in hopes it will get them what they want. I doubt Trump ever knew exactly what he meant. What he knew was it would be an attention grabber, just like all of the other personal attacks that have gotten him this far. Who knew how wrong Jeb Bush could be when he told Trump at a debate: “You can’t insult your way to the White House.”

Besides the tweets Trump is always signing something or meeting with someone, but judging what he actually accomplishes is tough. Most of those executive orders either cut back on something Obama backed or proclaim a review of something that will likely be cut back.

Surely the national government can be trimmed, but the Trump team seems eager to cut before a review, such as the case of the State Department. The goal there seems to be to cut the staff by 30% despite warnings by the likes of Secretary of Defense Mattis, perhaps the most widely respected member of the administration.

Trump’s domestic successes can mostly be grouped under the heading: Deconstructing the Obama Legacy. From the confirmation of Judge Gorsuch to his domestic cabinet picks, they share an agenda to reduce government. Sometimes to the point of absurdity, like the EPA, which now seems to stand for the Environmental Pollution Agency. How could it be otherwise with a secretary who continuously battled the EPA when a state attorney general?

That reminds me of the novel Fahrenheit 451, a dystopia in which the job of the firemen was not to fight fires but to burn books. Think of the other cabinet positions and you’ll see reflections of that as well.

You may have noticed I have said almost nothing about the foreign policy aspect of the brief rein of King Don. That’s because I see no policy, just a lot of showboating. Bombs dropped here and there to show the world Trump’s willingness to get tough. But along with this is Trump’s flirtatious ways with strong men rulers, the targets of dire threats one day and praise the next.

Most of us would not say we’d be “honored to meet” with the prominent dictators of our day. As if oblivious to their collective brutal suppression of others, or more likely, Trump just doesn’t care.

If you are a true blue America Firster, no one else really matters.

That’s a topic for another day. As far as Trump’s success so far, David Horsey of the L. A. Times has summed it up well: “Perhaps Trump’s biggest accomplishment in his first one hundred days has been his ability to capture the constant attention of the country and the world.”

IN A NUTSHELL…..

This blog will examine whether we Americans are to be masters of our destiny or victims of fate. We live in an age of increasing complexity, misinformation and ever more rapid change. We face grave problems as a nation, yet we are so polarized that we can't stand to speak with those who differ with us about them. Are we just passengers on our own Titanic? Or can we come together to save the ship? That's the central issue this blog will revolve around.

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